tagged w/ Free Tibet
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CHINESE JOKE. It will make you cry.
Thugs sell oil. You are buying.
In Darfur people are dying.
Women raped. Children slaughtered.
Life set on fire.
Urgent! to Panda.
People republic of China.
Need your help. Stop Evil.
Free Tibet.
Free your own people.
Music, lyrics, vocals guitars, keyboard, audio, video, graphics by Jon BerCHINESE JOKE. It will make you cry.
Thugs sell oil. You are buying.
In Darfur... more
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jonber
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Police will take away more than 100 monks for political re-education today on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising that led to the flight of the Dalai Lama.
The authorities are fearful of a repeat of the unrest last year when Tibetans used text messages to communicate details of new demonstrations against Chinese rule in the vast and sparsely populated Himalayan region. Protests spread swiftly among distant Tibetan communities on a scale unseen since the 1959 uprising.
A military lockdown has been in place across Tibet for several weeks. The authorities clearly do not want to be taken by surprise, as they were on March 14 last year when hundreds of Tibetans rampaged through the streets of Lhasa, setting fire to shops and offices, hurling stones and attacking ethnic Han Chinese and Hui Muslim residents. The Government says that 22 people died before paramilitary police moved in to restore order many hours after the violence had erupted.
Read and Discuss...Police will take away more than 100 monks for political re-education today on the eve... more
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Chinese authorities have revoked licenses for Oasis to play shows in Beijing and Shanghai in April after the discovery of Noel's appearance at a 1997 Free Tibet Concert. The band was deemed "unsuitable" because of their links with the Free Tibet movement. Other bands who have played at Free Tibet Concerts have been allowed to play in China, but recently the government has cracked down after Bjork yelled "Free Tibet!" at a packed arena in Shanghai.Chinese authorities have revoked licenses for Oasis to play shows in Beijing and... more
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Chinese police today shot a burning Tibetan monk before they put him out, the Free Tibet campaign said.
The monk had set himself on fire in a protest over Tibetan new year rituals in Aba county, Sichuan province, the group said. The area saw some of the worst unrest during Tibetan protests last March.
Free Tibet said witnesses saw Tabe, a monk aged in his 20s, walking from Kirti monastery into town this afternoon. He was carrying a hand-drawn Tibetan flag with a picture of the Dalai Lama at its centre.
"He doused himself in petrol. The armed police could not get near him because he was burning," said Matt Whitticase, a campaign spokesman. "Witnesses heard three gunshots fired. The monk fell to the ground and the police managed to put the flames out. He was immediately put into a van and taken to an undisclosed location. His present condition is unknown."Chinese police today shot a burning Tibetan monk before they put him out, the Free... more
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China is preparing for the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising - which saw the Himalayan territory's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, flee into exile - with a "strike hard" campaign and propaganda on the evils of feudal oppression in pre-1949 Tibet.
The massive Chinese security crackdown in Tibetan areas initiated earlier this month has prompted the Tibetan government-in-exile, located in the northern Indian town Dharamsala, to appeal to the international community for help.
Chinese state media reports say that 81 people - targeted for criminal activities - have been detained so far in the crackdown, which started on January 18. But Tibet's government-in-exile says the "strike hard" campaign has been launched to prevent political protests in a year laden with tense anniversaries.China is preparing for the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising - which saw the... more
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A Tibetan youth detained for his role in a nonviolent protest has been beaten to death by police, Tibetan sources say.
Pema Tsepak, 24, a resident of Punda town in the Dzogang county of Tibet’s Chamdo prefecture, had been held in police custody for his role in a demonstration against Chinese rule in Tsawa Dzogang since Jan. 20.
“Chinese officials said he jumped off a building, but we believe he was beaten to death and then thrown off the building,”
Namgyal Tsering, a Tibetan living in Delhi, India, said in an interview that Pema Tsepak had been hospitalized following mistreatment at the hands of his captors.
“He was so severely beaten that his kidneys and intestines were badly damaged. He was initially taken to Dzogang [county] hospital, but they could not treat him, and they took him to Chamdo hospital instead,” Tsering said.A Tibetan youth detained for his role in a nonviolent protest has been beaten to death... more
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XIAHE, China - Chinese paramilitary police with riot shields and batons abruptly took up posts Monday on the main street of this Tibetan town, disrupting the bustle of Buddhist pilgrims in a reminder of China's determined control of the region.
With some Tibetans pushing harder against Chinese rule, the communist government is determined to pacify the area.
The show of force Monday was meant to deter unrest while a local court sentenced a group of Tibetans for taking part in large anti-government protests in March in Xiahe, a small town abutting a sprawling complex of golden-roofed temples.
Though the verdicts were not publicly announced, the trial also seemed timed to answer the complaints of the Dalai Lama and other exiled leaders meeting in India over the weekend that Tibetans' patience with China's domination was thinning.
Seven months after Tibetans across western China exploded in the largest uprising against Chinese rule in nearly 50 years, the authoritarian government is adjusting tactics. Police checkpoints and guard posts in place for months are suddenly dismantled, only to reappear without warning days later.
"We are in the grip of the Communist Party. Tibet is occupied. The Dalai Lama has fled to India. My heart is sad," said a monk who has studied at Xiahe's Labrang monastery for 15 years and declined to give his name for fear of government reprisals.
On a spare altar in his small room was a framed portrait of the Dalai Lama.XIAHE, China - Chinese paramilitary police with riot shields and batons abruptly took... more
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Hundreds of Tibetan political leaders, activists and individuals from all over the world have just begun a meeting in Dharamsala, India, that is unprecedented in its ambition: to bring all Tibetans together to decide their own future, without the direct guidance of the Dalai Lama.
The week-long summit, which includes elected members of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, non-governmental organizations and protest groups, comes at a critical time. After the Dalai Lama indicated recently that he had all but given up on negotiations with China over autonomy for Tibet, there is increasing tension between Tibetan conservatives, who favor continuing talks, and younger radicals who want to push for a free Tibet. After protests this March in Lhasa that turned violent, the radicals were energized. But since then, they have been unable channel their efforts constructively. "The community is feeling slightly lost and helpless," says Tsering Shakya, a Tibetan scholar and professor at the University of British Columbia who has written extensively about modern Tibetan history. This week's meeting is an attempt on the part of Tibetan leadership to allow them to voice their views openly — without feeling inhibited about criticizing the Dalai Lama — and perhaps restore some sense of unity.Hundreds of Tibetan political leaders, activists and individuals from all over the... more
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"The Chinese government will never accept the Dalai Lama's calls for "high-level autonomy", an official leading talks between the two parties said at a briefing yesterday. Tibetan support groups expressed alarm at the harshness of the remarks, which also included an accusation that the exiled spiritual leader was seeking "ethnic cleansing" across the region.
A leading expert on Tibet warned that it was "almost a point of no return" in the dialogue, and blamed the British government's recent decision to explicitly recognise Tibet as a part of China for emboldening Beijing.
The press conference followed discussions in Beijing last week and precedes an agenda-setting meeting in Dharamsala, India, next week between Tibetan exiles about the future of their cause.
Zhu Weiqun, a vice-minister of the Chinese Communist party's United Front Work Department, added: "If one day, [the Dalai Lama] really seizes power, he will without any compunction or sympathy carry out ethnic discrimination, apartheid and ethnic cleansing."
Zhu said there had been no progress in last week's talks, blaming the Tibetan side. He described the current system as "perfect" and in need of no revision, adding: "There is no other way."
The government-in-exile is not commenting on its discussions with Beijing before the Dharamsala meeting. The Dalai Lama has sounded increasingly pessimistic about the prospects of a deal, and younger Tibetans have grown impatient with his "middle path" of peacefully pursuing autonomy for Tibet within China.
Professor Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet at Columbia University, New York, described yesterday's meeting as "almost a point of no return", which "closes off all possible routes" to the exiles. He added: "This is a detailed statement by the actual dialogue team, broadcast live on state television ... [with] among the most aggressive depictions of the Tibetan position."
He added: "I think this is deeply embarrassing for the British government ... One has to ask how they ever thought withdrawing the historical basis for talks would make it more likely China would continue them. It places a major question mark over Britain's ability to read these kinds of situations."
In a parliamentary statement last week, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, recognised China's sovereignty over Tibet.
The government-in-exile argues that the region enjoyed a high degree of autonomy for many years, deriving its claim in part on treaties signed by Britain, which set the boundaries between Tibet and British-ruled India. Those recognized China's effective rule, or "suzerainty", but only on the basis of the region's political autonomy. But Miliband argued that the position was "anachronistic". Most countries recognize China's direct rule."
More at link."The Chinese government will never accept the Dalai Lama's calls for... more
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NYT letter to editor: The rights of Tibetans
To the Editor:
I do not wish to respond to the entirety of Nicholas D. Kristof's Aug. 7 column, "An Olive Branch From the Dalai Lama." Mr. Kristof himself says that both sides will surely flinch at some terms, and he is correct about that.
The one point that needs immediate clarification is on the autonomous rights of the Tibetan people. The way it is presented, the reader may get the impression that the Tibet issue is only one of education, culture and religion.
Even according to Chinese law as spelled out in the White Paper on the Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet issued by the Chinese government in 2004, Tibetans are entitled to the following rights: full political right of autonomy; full decision-making power in economic and social development undertakings; freedom to inherit and develop their traditional culture and to practice their religious belief; and freedom to administer, protect and be the first to use their natural resources, and to independently develop their educational and cultural undertakings.
Lodi Gyari
Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Washington, Aug. 7, 2008
(This letter to the editor is reproduced from the online edition of The New York Times, published 8 August 2008)
****For official article click link above!NYT letter to editor: The rights of Tibetans
To the Editor:
I do not wish to... more
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A perspective from journalist Nicholas Kristof on the freedom of Tibet and how the Dalai Lama will bring about that change if at all. Tibet was invaded by China in 1949-1950 and since then more than a million of Tibetans have been killed or sent to prison because of their political or religious beliefs. The Dalai Lama appears to be negotiating with the Chinese Government concerning Tibet's sovereignty. Politics is not important to him but preserving the Tibetan culture. However, if they give their political power (the little that they have left) to the Chinese government won't that ultimately be the demise of Tibet and all it has to give?A perspective from journalist Nicholas Kristof on the freedom of Tibet and how the... more
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This is from an email (and their website) from the International Campaign for Tibet, to its supporters and others.
"The 2008 Beijing Olympics are behind us and, as a result of Tibetan activism, the situation in Tibet was clearly the most significant human rights backdrop for the Games.
Monks march in protest at LabrangThe spring demonstrations across the Tibetan plateau and the protests along the route of the international torch relay not only put the Tibet issue on the Olympic agenda - it preempted Beijing from using the Olympics to show economic progress and social harmony in Tibet.
Just a year ago, the media was ignoring Tibet in its preparation for covering the Games in China. All that changed after March 2008.
Tens of thousands of Tibetans protested across Tibet this spring . . . not to demonstrate against the Olympics, but against Chinese misrule. Then, as the resulting Chinese crackdown intensified in Tibet, tens of thousands of Tibet supporters protested its parading of the Olympic torch around the world. Even during the Olympics Tibet supporters managed to hang banners in Beijing and show that the right to freedom of expression cannot be extinguished by dictatorial rule.
Despite the Chinese government’s efforts to silence Tibetans and make the world think there is no Tibet problem, exactly the opposite occurred.BBC News: Tibet Banner Hang
As a New York Times editorial said, the final gold medal for authoritarian image management can be safely awarded to China’s Communist Party leadership:
“Along the way, government critics were pre-emptively rounded up and jailed, domestic news outlets tightly controlled, foreign journalists denied full access to the Internet and thousands of Beijing’s least telegenic residents were evicted from their homes and out of camera range.”
I want to thank each and every one of you for helping to ensure that the voices of the Tibetan people were heard before and during the Olympics.
We have a tremendous amount of human rights work ahead of us: hundreds of Tibetans detained this spring have yet to be tried and sentenced. We must win the release of these men and woman, many who are Buddhist monks and nuns. In our new report, Tibet at a Turning Point, ICT confirms the names of more than 900 Tibetans detained.
Two Tibetan filmmakers who made a powerful film in Tibet about how Tibetans really feel about the Beijing Olympics have been arrested. Their whereabouts are currently unknown and we must win their release.
Before the Olympics, ICT was concerned that the Chinese government’s intense focus on the success of the Games would undermine the struggle of brave Tibetans and Chinese for human rights, democratic freedoms and self-determination.
Beijing did its best to silence them.
But thanks to you and tens of thousands of other Tibetan activists inside and outside Tibet, our cause has been strengthened and we go forward from the Olympics with a renewed confidence in the spirit and tenacity of the Tibetan people."This is from an email (and their website) from the International Campaign for Tibet,... more
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The Dalai Lama will leave hospital on Monday after undergoing tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said.
"He is feeling well. He will be discharged tomorrow," spokesman Tenzin Takla says.
He declined comment on the outcome of the medical tests.
The Dalai Lama, 73, flew to Mumbai, India, on Thursday and was admitted to Lilavati Hospital with what his advisers said was exhaustion.
He cancelled planned trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
He recently returned to India from an 11-day visit to France.
The Dalai Lama spends several months a year travelling the globe to highlight the struggle of Tibetans for greater freedom in China and to teach Buddhism.
Since the March outbreak of violence in Tibet, China has stepped up its campaign to vilify the Dalai Lama, blaming him for the unrest, which Beijing says was part of a campaign to split the Himalayan region from the rest of China.
He has denied the allegations, saying he is only seeking greater autonomy for Tibet to protect its unique Buddhist culture.
The Dalai Lama has been living in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.The Dalai Lama will leave hospital on Monday after undergoing tests for abdominal... more
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MUMBAI, India (AP) -- The Dalai Lama was admitted to an Indian hospital on Thursday to undergo tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said.
The Dalai Lama with French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in southern France last week.
"Since tests haven't begun yet, we don't know what the ailment is," Tenzin Takla told The Associated Press. "Medical tests will begin on Friday."
The Dalai Lama's office in Dharmsala said Wednesday that the 73-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader was suffering from exhaustion and would cancel two planned international trips. MUMBAI, India (AP) -- The Dalai Lama was admitted to an Indian hospital on Thursday... more
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www.ArtofPeaceFoundation.org. As a show of solidarity with the Dalai Lama and Tibet, 20 artists have come together to release this historic double album on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. These recordings - some original for the project and some acoustically driven recordings of previously released songs - express our common vulnerabilities and experiences in pursuing happiness, peace and freedom. Collectively, these tracks represent a heartfelt message of support for the path of compassion and non-violence championed by the Dalai Lama. Begun in May of 2008 and completed in two months, the outpouring of support from all corners of the world was unparalleled. Funds raised from the album by the Foundation will go to support peace initiatives and Tibetan cultural preservation projects important to the Dalai Lama.
As the start of the Bejing Olympics nears, we applaud the athletes and the people of China in their accomplishment.
Unfortunately promises made by the Chinese Government to the I.O.C. have been broken over and over, including China's promise to remove the "Great Firewall of China" which blocks access to the internet and information.
Journalists who are reporting on the Olympics are still being blocked and hindered as of today.www.ArtofPeaceFoundation.org. As a show of solidarity with the Dalai Lama and Tibet,... more
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Tibetans protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, August 8, 2008. RTYC New York & New Jersey, and 4 other NGO's organized the Tibet rally to coincide with the start of Beijing Olympics and to express their condemnation of China's aggression. The event was attended by around 1000 Tibetans and supporters.Tibetans marched towards UN Plaza and Chinese mission where slogans were chanted. A member of the Free Cuba Foundation took part and filmed this footage.Tibetans protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, August 8, 2008. RTYC... more
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Tibetans protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, August 8, 2008. RTYC New York & New Jersey, and 4 other NGO's organized the Tibet rally to coincide with the start of Beijing Olympics and to express their condemnation of China's aggression. The event was attended by around 1000 Tibetans and supporters.Tibetans marched towards UN Plaza and anti-Chinese mission where slogans were chanted. A member of the Free Cuba Foundation took part and filmed this footage.Tibetans protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, August 8, 2008. RTYC... more
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China's authorities have blocked access to all eight million or so songs in the iTunes music store, apparently because one album -- Songs for Tibet -- doesn't sit well with them.
Songs on the album include criticism of the same so-called "great firewall of China" that now prevents it from being purchased from iTunes in China.
"We issued a release saying that over 40 (Olympic) athletes downloaded the album in an act of solidarity, and that's what triggered it," Michael Wohl, executive director of the Art of Peace Foundation, which released the compilation, told the Associated Press. "Then everything got blocked."
The screenshot to the right, taken last night in China, shows what users in China see when they try to access the store. An Apple spokesman responded, "We have no comment on the China question."
Although Apple does not operate a localized version of the iTunes music store in China, users with accounts at iTunes stores based in other countries, including the athletes Wohl mentions above, were able to purchase the album in China before the block was put into place. According to the Guardian, the Chinese government employs an estimated 30,000 people to block access to online material it finds objectionable.
Several well-known artists participated in the album (iTunes link), including Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Imogen Heap, Moby, Sting, Suzanne Vega, Underworld and others. It also includes a 15-minute talk by exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. Funds raised through the album's sale go to supporting "peace initiatives and Tibetan cultural preservation projects important to the Dalai Lama," according to the album's iTunes description.
"It seems like suspending iTunes is punishment for iTunes, but really it doesn't hurt iTunes, it hurts us," said a note on Chinese Apple fan site macfans.com.cn, according to the AP.
China's attempt to block the album (and everything else available in the iTunes store, for that matter) could have the unintended effect of further raising awareness of the album and the issues it champions. China's authorities have blocked access to all eight million or so songs in the... more
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The Dalai Lama has accused Chinese troops of opening fire on protesters in eastern Tibet on August 18 and said in an interview published on Thursday he had unconfirmed information that 140 people were killed.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told the French newspaper Le Monde that the army opened fire during a protest in the eastern Tibetan region of Kham on Monday.
"I gather that 140 Tibetans were killed, although the figure needs to be confirmed," the Dalai Lama was quoted as saying.
"Since the riots in March, reliable witnesses have established that 400 people have been killed in the Lhasa area alone ... If you consider the whole of Tibet, the number of victims is obviously higher," he said.
The Dalai Lama is nearing the end of a two-week visit to France during which he has already accused China of increasing repression in Tibet.
On Monday the Free Tibet Campaign, an activist group, said China had stepped up repression in its ethnic Tibetan regions to prevent any protests during the Beijing Olympics.
China's crackdown on protests in Tibet in March drew widespread criticism in the international community and Beijing accused the Dalai Lama and his allies of orchestrating the trouble. He denies this.
Ten thousand arrested
"Ten thousand people have been arrested (since March). We don't know where they are being held," the Dalai Lama said in his interview with Le Monde.
He said Chinese authorities were accelerating the construction of military camps in Tibet and this made him fear they had plans to maintain Tibet under long-term repression.
"The military presence in Tibet is old, but the frenzy of new construction in the Amdo and Kham regions makes me say that this colonisation by the army is designed to last," he said.
The Dalai Lama said last week in a meeting with French parliamentarians that he feared China would accelerate the settlement of one million ethnic Han Chinese in Tibet immediately after the Games to dilute the ethnic Tibetan population still further.
His visit to France is focused mainly on religious commitments, but on Friday he will meet President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Sarkozy declined to meet the Dalai Lama, drawing widespread criticism that he was caving in to pressure from Beijing, which had warned him through its ambassador there would be "serious consequences" if such a meeting took place. The Dalai Lama has accused Chinese troops of opening fire on protesters in eastern... more
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